The Quarter Quell The 150th annual Hunger Games
by heavyrain
Summary: Just a small start to a great story ;
1. Southern Bell

I wake up to the sickening smell of eggs being fried all the way from the kitchen. I hate eggs, like I really, really, really, _hate _eggs. The way they taste, the way they _smell_, the way they look. Ugh, I'm getting sick just thinking about it.

I sit up and jump off my bed. I walk over to my mirror and look at myself like I do every morning. My hair, of course, is messed up beyond belief. God, I wish I didn't have frizzy, dry hair. That would make my life so much easier. I don't even know how many countless hours I spent every morning to just get my hair perfect. Probably like a billion.

I yawn and stretch my arms up in the air. Today is the day of the reaping, and its no other than the Quarter Quell. The 150th Hunger Games, yep, what a waste. They decided that they were going to announce what the new sickening twist was today at the reaping, hopefully nothing like Quarter Quells in the past. I know I definitely couldn't defeat 47 other tributes, and I'd be pissed if my District voted for me to go in. Well, either way, it's going to be shitty. It's the Quarter Quell.

I walk to the kitchen and sit down on the kitchen table. My sister, Alexis, is still sleeping, obviously. She's 17, so she has to wake her ass up and get ready soon too. I really don't feel like the peacekeepers coming to my house and beating us to death because we didn't attend.

"Good morning Jass, what would you like for breakfast?" My mom said, fixing herself some toast with butter.

"Cereal, what else do I eat every morning?" I shot. God, I hated when she asked stupid questions. I ate cereal every single day of my life, why would it be any different today?

"Hey I don't need the attitude this early in the morning Jass." She said, lifting her finger up like she was gonna go all ghetto on me.

"You're the one giving me attitude!" I shot back, sick and tired of her constant anger towards me.

"Whatever, make yourself some breakfast if you're really that hungry." She threw the bowl against the kitchen counter and left. I'm guessing to wake my sister up, I don't really know. But whatever, I'm not that hungry anyways.

I walk to my room and look in my closet. I don't know what to wear to the reaping today, and I need to wear something extra _fresh. _

Well, since I'm from District 10, I guess I'll wear something a little southern bell would wear. How about a light pink, yellow, and lime green plaid dress with brown moccasins? Yeah, I think I'ma wear that!

I lay my clothes and shoes down on my bed and hop in the shower. The warm water wraps me around so tightly, I never want to get out. But I have to, only about a half an hour left till the reaping.

I get out of the shower and dry myself off quickly. I seriously don't have enough time to put on any make up or anything, ugh, I'm gonna look like shit.

I run in my room and quickly put my plaid dress on and my moccasins. I run back to the bathroom and brush my teeth and blow-dry my hair as quickly as possible. God, I have an afro, I _hate _my hair! This is all thanks to my dad, of course. You see, I'm half black, so I do obviously have African American features, one of them being my hair, but I got the lighter dark brown skin tone, because my mom is white. It's not easy being a mixed girl in District 10. I painfully found that out in second grade, when the boy who I was so oh madly in love with, Austin Rowland, said he didn't want his daddy seeing him hang out with a black girl. My heart was broken.

I run to my room and brush my hair to the best of my abilities, and put it in a half updo ponytail. I'm officially done! And just in time too!

"Jasmyne! Alexis! Time to go!" My mom screams. Alright, it's time.

I run out the door and jump in the car. Alexis and my mom of course, are already there.

"Alexis, did you even change?" I said. She is wearing the exact same clothes from last night. She didn't take a shower, or brush her teeth either. God, this was the Quarter Quell, her not being prepared can actually be dangerous. If the Peacekeepers think that were mocking the games by not looking our best, we were dead meat.

"Nope." She said, smiling. I admire her though, how she doesn't care about anything, but at the same time, I'm prettier, and I work my ass off to look my best too.

My mom starts heading towards the town hall with just about 5 minutes to spare and I think I'm going to be sick. I'm not ready, and I never will be. I don't know what I would do with myself is Alexis got picked, or one of my friends, or me. We're just going to have to wait and see.


	2. Bad

Alexis and I bolted out of the car. The town square was closing its gates, meaning anyone who was not in there that was eligible for the reaping would be punished severely. Meaning death.

The people that were closing the gates saw us, and stopped it right when it was about to close. Thank God! By the time we were able to find our seats we were breathing so heavily the whole square could hear us.

"Is my hair messed up?" I asked Alexis, who was slouched on her seat, holding on to her chest while breathing heavily. God, she's such a drama queen. I can see how she was having a harder time running more than I did. She _is _fatter than me, by a lot actually. But oh well, I like being the pretty skinny one of the family. "Uh, no. Now shut up." She said.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of District 10, welcome! Today is an amazing day, you know why? It's the 150th Hunger Games, meaning, it's the Quarter Quell!" His voice was so loud and booming. I hated Mayor Trojan. He didn't care about anybody but himself. He hasn't done anything for this District, other than raise taxes and make his house bigger. I think we elected him for mayor like 35 years ago. Has like a miniature dictator. He's never gonna leave. "Now, you all must be thinking, Governor Trojan, what's twist? Well, the twist is…" An older woman, I think it was one of the victors of District 10, handed him a crimson red envelope, with I think a big golden sticker on it. I don't know. I'm too far away to tell.

He fondled with the sticker for a minute or two before he was able to open it. He pulled out a very old piece of paper and his eyes widen.

Oh shit, we're screwed.

"Well, well, well, this is certainly a very big twist!" He says, laughing.

I really hope it says that The Hunger Games will be cancelled for this year. I just really hope it says that.

"Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, for this year's Quarter Quell, I will require two male tributes, and two female tributes to come up to the stage, but then, they have to step to this cage that has already been provided, and fight to the death! The winners will be the official tributes of our District, and they will be going on to the arena!"

I think my heart just stopped. I can't hear a single noise in the square. I don't even know what to say.

"Well, as you all know, ladies first!" He says, with an unusually happy tone to his voice.

He walks over to the bowl of names and swishes his hand in, and pulls out a long white strip of paper.

"The first unofficial female tribute for the 150th Quarter Quell is… Jasmyne Lyndsey!"

I hear Alexis gasp, and grab my arm. I think I can feel every single of my toes go numb, but I still don't think he's talking about me. There has to be a million Jasmyne Lyndsey's in this district right?

Wrong.

"Jasmyne Lachelle Lyndsey?" He said again.

Oh my God, it's actually me. I can't believe it. The back of my head suddenly goes numb, and everything comes into sharp perspective. I think I'm getting light headed. But I don't know what it is, maybe it's the adrenaline, maybe it's the sudden pulse of anger and fear, that I yank myself from Alexis's grip, and storm up to the stage.

How could they do this? How could they do this to _me?_ I'm so fucking angry right know, I could kill everybody in this square right here, right now.

"Stand over there Jasmyne." The mayor commands, pointing towards a big metal cage that wasn't there before.

I quickly walk towards the cage and slip in, standing on the completely opposite side and slipping my fingers through the metal bars.

There's one thing you need to know about me people. When I get put into a stressful situation like this, I can be very _bad. _Whoever is going up against me, won't even know what hit her.

"Okay, now let's move on! Now, the second unofficial female tribute is… Jessica Seizmore!"

After a couple of minutes, I see a real tiny, skinny girl walk up to the stage. She's not that pretty, she actually looks like an albino sneak. She's got those skinny green eyes, with that long face with a piercing smile. Her hair is ugly too. Light brown with caramel highlights. Ugh.

She steps in the cage and the doors immediately close. She looks at me with those sharp eyes and steps back. I know what she's trying to do- she's trying to play the intimidation game. You see, I don't do that. People who play that game are usually weak, and that's the completely opposite of what I am.

"Ladies, you may begin in 5, 4, 3," I feel my heart beating faster than ever. I wouldn't be surprised if it just pops out of my chest. "2, 1, GO!" Right when he says that, she comes lunging towards me.

Right when she's about the crash into me, I simply step to the side. Too easy.

I grab her hair from the back and swing her onto the ground. I come down and lay a good ol' punch on her nose, breaking it instantly. She screams and holds onto to it, making herself completely defenseless. And then, out of nowhere, this knife drops from the top of the cage. Not even looking up, I grab it from the ground and stab her right in the chest. Her eyes widen and she screams. I stick my knife out and stab her again in the stomach, she screams more. Damn, why won't this bitch die?! I have to finish her off now.

I stick my knife back out and slowly place it on her neck. Her hands quickly grab onto my sides, exposing her bloody nose. She knows this is the end. I can see one tear slowly slip down her left before I slit her throat, as fast as possible. There's no point in letting this girl suffer.

Did I… did I just kill that girl? I stand there and look at my crimson stained hands. Her blood, this is all her blood. I killed her, and I killed her in the worst way possible. I don't even know what came over me. What the hell just happened?

I step off of her and throw the knife onto the ground. I can't believe my family, my friends, my District just saw me murder this poor girl. This is truly unforgivable.

The cage door suddenly opens, and these men in white suits come running in. I'm caught off guard when one of them grabs my hand and pulls me out of the cage. Then, two other men come inside and inspect the girl's body. It takes them about five seconds before they determine her dead.

Wow, of course she is, dumbasses.

I start crying. I thought it would be easy. Seeing her lunge towards me like that, I had all the reason to try to hurt her. But I feel like I made her suffer. The way she looked at me, the way she grabbed me, the way she cried. I will never forget her face as I slit her throat. Her eyes filled with fear go dark within seconds. I just killed somebody. And it took me no longer than five minutes. I turned into a murder in simply, 5 minutes.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, our female tribute! Jasmyne Lyndsey!"

The man escorts me to the stage for the whole world to see.

Not one single person is clapping, or even smiling. Not even Alexis, she just looks shocked. I'm so fucking pathetic. I just _killed _somebody!

"You killed my baby!" I hear a woman scream, from where the parents and younger children are supposed to stand. I don't even look at her direction. Nothing I will ever say will make her forgive me, so what's the point.

I look down at my plaid dress while he is calling the male tributes. The upper half of my chest is covered in blood, and there are two blood prints of her hands on my side from where she grabbed me. Once I get the chance, I am throwing this dress away, burn it if I can.

When I look up, I realize that the two male tributes are already in the cage. I don't recognize either of them, but I do know that one of them is extremely fast, and has the other boy, who is bigger, on the ground within minutes. The knife drops down, just like it did when I was in there, and he stabbed the bigger guy in the stomach.

It's over, he won.

But wait, what the hell is he doing?!

He shoves his hand in the guy's stomach, and quickly yanks an organ out of his stomach! He keeps pulling it and pulling it, and the other boy is still _alive! _Moaning!

He yanks out the last bit of that organ and throws it against the cage. Like they did with me, the men with white suits walk in and restrain him, while they check the other boy's body. Of course, he is _finally_ dead.

I think I'm going to vomit.

The men in white suits escort him to the other side of the stage. The whole square is silent, like literally you can't hear _anything!_ Even the mayor looks disgusted, and I thought that was impossible.

"Well um, ladies and gentlemen, this is the uh, male tribute. You guys may shake hands." He says, stepping back. He was the only thing between me and this, this _freak, _and there was no way I was touching his hand, his bloody, disgusting hands. Even though mine were also bloody, his was a different kind of blood. He ripped out someone's organs for God's sake; you can tell how it's different.

He extended his hands out and gave a small smile, but it faded quickly, when he realized I wasn't going to shake his hand.

"Shake hands." The mayor said again.

"No." I said, stepping away.

The boy raised his eye brown, and stepped back as well. I think he knew there was no way I was touching him.

"You have to, now _shake his hand." _The mayor said, sounding more like a threat.

"Did you not hear me? I said no." I snapped back.

He gave me the most disgusted look I have ever seen anyone give me, then stepped up and spoke into the microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, our District 10 tributes!" He said, raising his hands up in the air, waiting for the little applause he usually got every year. But this year, right now, nothing. Not one single clap, not one single whistle, not one single smile.

This is a really good idea, Capitol. Kill to get into The Hunger Games, it's like a mini Hunger Games to get to the big stuff, oh and kill right in front of your family, friends, your very own District. So they can see you in action, so they can all see the power you have among us, so they can experience it real life, not just through a TV screen. Happy Quarter Quell!

Once the mayor got done speaking, he escorted us into the Justice Building, where he put us in two separate rooms.

I'm told to sit in the big violet couch and wait for the TV screen to turn on. I'm guessing this is where we see all the other tributes, so I make sure to take a mental note of everyone, just in case.

I press my head against the big fluffy leather couch and pull up the recliner. I could definitely use some sleep right now.

Like that will help.

The TV suddenly turns on all by itself and I immediately see the beautiful town square of the one and only, District 1.

The girls that go in look weak either way, and the winner, who said her name was Jacqueline Hill, mostly just out beat the other girl because the other girl got tired of chasing Jacqueline around, and by the time the knife came, she was already on the floor, gasping for air, while Jacqueline, had plenty of energy left.

The boy was different. He was the complete opposite. He was on the ground before you knew it, and the other boy was on top of him, ready to slit his throat, when he reached up and ripped his eye out, and then quickly grabbing the knife and finishing the boy off. His name is Jeff Plumb.

The girl from District 2 also won because she didn't tire out as quickly. But the boy though, that was different. His name is David Behymer, and looked about 5. He probably weighs about 90 pounds or less, and was whiter than… white. Platinum blonde hair, with big ol' glasses. The All American nerd! And the only reason he won was, well, by accident! The other boy was totally dominating David, but just when the knife fell down, the other boy wasn't paying attention, so it fell to his side. The boy got off David and started screaming for the crowd to cheer for him, and they did. They were going crazy over this boy! But then, David noticed the knife, grabbed it, looked at it like he didn't know what to do with it, and the other kid, not paying attention, tripped over David's feet, and landed right on top of the knife. And that was that.

The girl from District 3, who I recognized to be one of the pretties girls I've seen ever, won because she had climbed the fence like a lizard, grabbed the knife right when it was about to be thrown into the cage, and landed right in the girl, stabbing her right in the head. The boy just won because he was fast and small and grabbed the knife in time. Nothing special about him.

The girl from District 4 savagely killed her opponent with a nice strategy. First, she lowered the girls self esteem, calling her worthless and even if she did make it she would be the first to die and that no one would miss her, and then, before you know it, the girl starts punching her in the face, and within minutes, the knife is brought down and the competition is over. Her name is Celeste Duvall. The boy didn't even need the knife to kill his, what I'm guessing, 12 year old opponent. Three punches, then he broke his neck. That was all it took. His name is Donald Walker.

As for the other Districts, I only noticed a big, muscular 18 year old named Kody Blue, a sly little girl, who literally looks like a Victoria secrets model from District 8, and that's pretty much it.

I slump on the sofa once the TV turns blank. Well, on the bright side, the youngest tribute is 14 years old. Makes sense, since all the younger tributes got killed off pretty quick.

Suddenly, the TV shoots back on again. I can hear the distant sound of the TV buzzing silently. This wasn't good, I can already tell.

"Ladies and Gentleman," spoke president Pastgrove. Why was he on now?! "I am here to inform you that well, the Quarter Quell is not quite over yet." He giggled to himself. Oh God, this definitely wasn't good. "For some reason, your mayors have _failed _to inform you that once in The Games, you will have a partner. Now, that partner can be anybody. Your best friend, or your worst enemy. You'll find out soon enough. Well, the twist is, since this _is_ the 150th Hunger Games, I think we should make things a little more… exciting." He gave his evil smile, showing every single one of his pointy teeth. "The rules are simple. If your partner dies… you will die. And in the end, when there is no one left, you two will be free to finish each other off, until someone is crowned a victor," He gives a long pause. "Good luck _children, _and may the odds ever be in your favor."

The TV turns off.

Oh my God.

"Honey?" I heard my mom weep, slowly opening the door and walking in the room. It was just her and Alexis, that's it.

"Oh my God, my baby!" I stood up and welcomed her hug. My mind was at another place. This is probably going to be one of the shortest Hunger Games ever.

Still, I don't want her to ever stop hugging me. There's something always so warm and comforting about her hugs. I never want her to let go.

But she does.

She sits on the couch and wipes the makeup out of her eyes while Alexis gives me a hug. She's not crying, but I can tell she's horribly depressed by the way she's hugging me. She's squeezing me so tight. I wish this lasted forever.

But of course, it doesn't.

"Did you hear the latest?" She asked, snot still pouring out of her nose.

"Yeah Mom." I said, sitting right next to her.

"What happened?" Alexis asked. Obviously oblivious of my misfortunes.

"Were going to be assigned Partners, and if our partner dies, we die." I said, looking straight into her eyes, to see if I can get any emotion out of her that shows that she's at least concerned about me.

"This is going to be a short Hunger Games." Is all she says.

"Yeah," I look down, "I know."


	3. Capitol Bound

I gave my mom and sister one final hug before the peacekeepers walked in and told them they had to leave. I can feel the tears coming, but I can't make them think that I'm weak, because if I do, then they won't even have hope in me.

I wave one final goodbye before the door slowly shuts.

I sit back down and put my hands on my lap. I close my eyes and breathe in and out, as slowly as possible. I have to think up a strategy. My old strategy was just to survive, but I can't do that now. Because my survival is in someone else's hands as well.

The door opens again, and I can see a petite woman walk in with a big clipboard, jotting things down as she shuts the door behind her. She's wearing a tight purple suit with four big black buttons placed in the most random spots. She's wearing silver stilettos that make her look like a foot taller, and her skin is slightly pink tinted. Her hair is big and towering, going straight up like a bee's nest. Her hair is visible even in this dim light only because it is literally the color silver. Not grey, but silver.

"Jasmyne Lyndsey?" She asked, not even looking up from her clipboard.

"Yeah." I said. Please tell me this woman was not my mentor.

"Come with me." She said, quickly turning around and out the door.

I followed.

She walked really fast for a short woman with such high heels. I wish I could do that, but then again, stilettos aren't my thing.

She turned and walked in another door, but right when I was about to walk in with her, she pushed me out and put her finger over her lip. I step back and try to be as quiet as possible, trying to listen to what's going on in there. I can hear someone sobbing, then I hear the woman that was just in my room telling them to hurry up. _This was the freaks room._

It's almost time to go I guess. If she's making him hurry up, that only means that were Capitol bound very soon.

The door opened slowly, and the mom stepped out, sobbing like I've never seen anyone sob before. Her husband, I'm guessing, has his arm around her tightly, looking down to the ground as they are walking away. Seeing this, I'm actually glad that Alexis and Mom kept it together, well, at least Alexis. I don't think I could have said goodbye to them if they were sobbing that hard. It's like they already gave up hope.

The woman walks out and right behind her is the freak, who won't even look at me now. And I'm fine with that.

"My name is Ursula Forman, and I will be your mentor." She said, not even looking back at us.

"Don't even consider yourself District partners. If you _really _want to make this easier on yourself, don't even talk to each other." She said. I am _totally _fine with that.

We reached a door at the very end of the dim, lavished hallway and stop there. She turned around and addressed us both.

"I will be mentoring you both separately. Meaning, I will be telling one of you how to kill the other, and vice versa. Understood?" She said, pointing her green pencil at us.

We both nodded. Damn, she's tough.

"Good. Well, once we get on the bus to go to the Capitol, I will give you the person in which you are assigned as a partner, basically, you're other lifeline. If you're unhappy with your partner, tough luck." She opened the door and peeked out.

"Ah, the bus is here. Ready children?" She asked, opening the door, flooding the dark room with powerful sunlight.

"I thought so." She said, stepping into the ocean of light.

It takes us about a moment to realize that we should be following her, so we step outside and can see that she is already getting on the humongous black bus that will be taking us to the Capitol. I can't help but to stare at it with awe. It's all black, platinum black. Very sleek and shiny, God it's amazing! It's easily taller than two of my houses combined. What the hell was in that bus that needed so much space?

We quickly walk towards the bus, not noticing the peacekeepers with shotguns surrounding us. What were we gonna do, run away?

The freak was in front of me, which really pissed me off. I want to be the first one to see the inside of the bus! The doors suddenly opened and we practically run in. We're greeted with the sparkle of dashing chandeliers that surround us whit white lights from all corners. There's beautiful leather sofas everywhere, and tables with what look like menus on them. There's several stairs, but they have a chain blocking the way. I honestly could not name the countless paintings, sculptures, plants, musical instruments that I see now.

"Children." Ursula said, sipping on a steaming cup of coffee that she wasn't holding before. "Come with me."

We followed her to a small room which I didn't see, most likely because it was hidden behind a wall. We walk in and are told to sit down on a big round wooden table, containing nothing but her clipboard and a pencil. The room is _a lot _different than the bus. It's small black room, with one singe light coming from the top of the table. Oh and I think I can spot a vending machine from the side too, I'm not really sure though.

"Sit." She says, pointing to the two chairs pushed under the table.

"Now," she says, as were sitting down, "I know both of your alls partners. Who wants to find out who their partner is first?" She said, clenching to her clipboard.

"I do!" I shouted, almost sounding kind of desperate.

"Brandy McEntire. District 6. Bradley, yours is Brandon Stamper, who is from, well, surprisingly, from District 6 also." She said, sounding surprised herself.

"Now, just a little heads up about your partners. I'm going to give you the cold facts about them, my complete opinion. Bradley, Brandon is capable of making it very far, he is well built and is attractive, which can get you sponsors, but I have also heard that he doesn't really communicate, and doesn't take anything seriously, so you might want to keep him in line. Now, Jasmyne. Brandy is very pretty also, which can get you sponsors, and your very pretty too, which can get you guys even more sponsors, but you must show that you are strong also. She's very strong I've heard anyways. Now, I did hear that she is a bitch, and isn't very nice at all. She is a total flirt, and will use that to her advantage. Good luck with that." She looked up at us and asked us if we had any questions.

"When will we meet them?" I asked her.

"In about… two hours."

"Do you know where the arena will be?" The freak asked, or no, I mean _Bradley_ asked.

"That information is confidential." She said, almost looking upset that he asked her that. "Do you honestly think that I have any idea of where the arena will be? Boy, the only people that know about that arena are the Game makers, and the President."

She stood up and wiped invisible crumbs off her suit and looked at her golden watch.

"Well, any questions?" She asked.

We both shook our heads.

"Good, now go gets some rest. We only have about an hour and a half until we get to the Capitol."


	4. Partners

"Get up." I hear someone say, shaking my shoulder over and over again. I slowly open my eyes, and after a few blurry blinks, I realize that is Bradley.

"Get off me!" I scream, pushing his hand away from my shoulder.

"Where here." He says, rolling his eyes and backing away.

Oh shit, I'm not even close to being ready. Right before I took a nap, I took a shower and changed into this white v-neck and old worn out sweat pants. There's gonna be about a million paparazzi out there, I can't go out there looking like this!

"Ursula left you some clothes in the closet. She said you would know what to wear." He said, like he read my mind. He backed away slowly and left the room. He's so weird.

I quickly got off my bed and practically ran towards the closet. God, I only have about what, 5 minutes left?

I take off my clothes as quickly as possible and put on what is instructed. Light blue ripped jeans and a tight pink v-neck with a diamond studded heart on it, well, right where my heart is. Hey, this isn't too bad. I put on the only green pink flip flops I see when Ursula yell.

"Jasmyne!" Ursula screams as she storms into the room.

"Where late you know! We can't keep the Capitol waiting!"

She grabs my arm unexpectedly and pulls me out at the room. Bradley is already standing by the door, ready to leave. He's wearing torn looking camouflage shorts and a bigger black shirt that had District 10's symbol on it. A pearl studded horse that looks like it is gracefully running, with its mane gently floating in the air. Freedom, that's what its represents. You can see the irony there.

"Ready Children?" Ursula asks; smacking Bradley's back so he stands up straight.

"Yeah." I say, straightening my own back so I won't get hit. This was it, this is the day we meet all the other Tributes. The next three days will be the Tributes Trials, then after that, the Chariot rides and interviews, and then, The Hunger Games. If anything, this is the easiest thing I'm going to do. A couple of paparazzi can't be too bad, can it?

The bus doors burst open and Ursula shoves us down, almost falling down the few steps and landing straight on my face. I immediately straighten up, and almost instantly a huge light flashes before my eyes, making me feel like I'm going blind. But I keep walking, for I know that these pictures will go on TV stations all across the world, and if I look good now will be vitally important to the decision making of the sponsors.

I can feel Ursula inching her way in front of me, leading the way. We were getting close to the most humongous building I have ever seen in my life. It looked like a million mansions put together, all different shapes and colors. This must be it; this is where everything takes place. It's so beautiful. It's like a giant multicolored diamond.

I feel Ursula grab onto my arm and say something, but I don't really know what. There's too much going on.

And before I know it, where inside the building.

I see hundreds of little dots all over the place, going wherever I look. I'm pretty sure I'm blind.

"Hurry Children, they're already waiting!" Ursula says, scurrying to an elevator that is all but a blur right now. I look behind me and see Bradley, he looks like he's about fall down, or faint. I never knew how tough strong the Paparazzi's cameras were.

We get on the elevator and my vision clears up almost immediately, probably because this elevator is so damn dark.

"Remember Children, the two Tributes that you're about to meet are literally you're other life line, I can't stress this enough. At all cost, doesn't matter what they do, doesn't matter what they say, try to get _along with them."_

The elevator suddenly reaches to a stop. I don't really feel anything towards meeting my partner. I'm not happy, sad, excited, or nervous about it. Kind of apathetic about it actually.

The door slowly slid to the left, and before me, was the biggest man I have ever seen in my life. He is holding his hands behind his back, has a big orange beard, and has muscles the size of a car… exaggerating, but seriously big.

"Hello James." Ursula greets him as she steps out of the elevator.

"Ursula." He says back, nodding at her.

"Where are Brandy and Brandon?" She asks.

We stepped out of the elevator and looked around. No one was there. But then, James smiled, and stepped to the side. There, right in front of me, is my other life line.

They are both sitting on wooden chairs. Brandy, has her blonde hair _perfectly_ curled, and has her curls are gently floating behind her neck. She cocks her head and looks at my slyly. She sizes me up, looking me up, then down, then back up. She raises an eyebrow, and then folds her legs. Yeah, she's a bitch. Brandon doesn't even look at Bradley, instead, he's looking at me.

Brandon was tanner than I expected, and he looks like he would be an Abercrombie and Fitch model. He has a nice face, nice jaw line, short light brown hair, and a nice body. He just radiates attractive. He seems like a fighter too. Bradley and him are going to make it far, I know it.

He notices me looking at me and smiles, not showing his teeth, but slightly lifting up the side of his lip as his eyes dance around my body. And then I realize, this is his trick! He's the type that is going to lure people in with his looks, personality, _smile, _and when they least expect it, he will kill them. It's happened so many times before.

"Well Children, meet you're Partners." Ursula says, stretching her arm out towards them like they were some sort of prize.

Bradley waves at Brandon and smiles, but keeps his eyes on the ground. He is such a _freak!_

"Hey." I say to Brandy, smiling at her and actually looking her in the eye.

"Hey." She says back, not smiling at all. Her eye brow is still raised. Oh, boy.

There's a long pause.

"Uh, well, alright children! You will be with your partners all day for the next three days. So know how to get along, I can't stress that enough. I advice that you guys train together, do _everything_ together. It will benefit you, trust me. Now, Jasmyne and Bradley, come with me, it's already late and we have to set you up in your rooms. If you see any other tributes on the way, pay no mind to them, act like you didn't even see them." She stood there for a moment, then looks at me. Oh right, I forgot. Where are my manners?

"Well, bye." I say to Brandy, who just puts up a peace sign. Bradley waves at Brandon, who still isn't even look at him, and we walk away. Ursula is already inside an elevator, and she looks as shocked as we are. _These are the people who are going to keep us alive? _I'm screwed.

The elevator door slowly closes and Ursula lets out a deep sigh.

"Remember children, try your best to get along with them." She says, pressing on a button that has the number 56 on it.

"I'm pretty sure my partner is already thinking of ways to kill me." I say.

"Probably." Says Ursula, laughing to herself.

Um?

After about 5 minutes, we reach floor 56. The doors slide open and we step into the once again, dim hallway. Everything is always so dark around here. The Capitol Bus, every single room in this building, geez.

Ursula steps out and looks to her left, then forward. There were rows and rows of doors, were I'm guessing the other Tributes are staying.

"Follow me." Orders Ursula.

We follow her down the hallway, and I notice that every door has a big golden tablet on it.

"Zach Schafer, District 3." One of them read. Tributes were behind these doors. The very tributes I will be fighting the death in less than a week. When today ends and I wake up tomorrow, this game will be _mine._

Ursula reaches to a sudden stop and smiles.

"Jasmyne, this is your room." Ursula says, pointing at the door. She looks at the door right next to mine and smiles, then walks off with Bradley.

"You're key is inside, and you are not allowed to leave your room after 9." She says, her voice distantly fading the farther away she gets. I look to the door to my right and read the tablet. "Ariel Giblin, District 11." That name sounds so familiar, but for some reason, I feel terrible scared.


End file.
